Beehive.



N. MATTHEWS. BEEHIVB APPLICATION FILED JUNE 16, 1 913.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

luvm NT 0R C EEEEEE WITNESSES! 'Wm w ATTORNEY.

NEWTON MATTHEWS, or FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA.-

, rsnmvn.

Specificatihn of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1913.

' Application filed. .Tune 16, 1913. Serial No. 774,041.

will enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a bee-hive; more particularl to the novel and improved, construction 0 the top bars of the brood frames in the beehive, whereby a queen bee is prevented from passing from the'brood-chamher to the surplus chambers of the bee hive.

For well known reasons it is a desideratum that queen beesbe excluded from the chambers above thebrood chamber in a bee Devices heretofore devised and used for -preventin the passage of queen bees from the broo chamber to the other chambers of the bee hive are separate fro-mthe brood frames and are not altogether satisfactory in that they are comparatively expensive, easily lost or damaged, liable to deposits of brace comb and propolis, and troublesome in use.

The main object of the invention is to prohive.

gfldv ide'between the top bars of the brood frames, tortuous passageways which-prevent queen bees going through said passageways to a chamber ad]acent to the brood chamber in a beehive.

A further. object of the invention is to provide on-the brood frames novel and im-' proved queen excluding means which is simple and yet effective in character, easy and economical to make, use, and install, strongand durable, and which in practice has been found to be subject to minimum deposits of brace comb and propolis. v

Other objects and the advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of .the fol-- lowing descriptionof the preferredform of construction embodying it, taken in connection with the accompanying'drawings in which Figure 1 is a sideelevational view of a j glframes; Fig. 4 is an enlarged broken and sectional view taken on the llne H of Fig.

3; and Fig. 5 is a partly broken and sectional view taken onthe line of Fig. 2.

The bee hive 6 maybe of any suitable or approved construction and in this instance is provided with a lower or brood chamber 7 and with an upper or surplus chamber '8. In the chamber 7 are arranged a'plurality of brood frames 9 having sides of the top bars 10 thereof formed to provide tortuous passageways 11 between and leading from the lower to the upper surfaces'of the top bars 10. As shown, the brood frames 9 preferably consist of the top bars 10, the end bars 12, and the bars 13 connectedbetween the lower ends of the bars 12. The end portions'14 of the top bars 10 are preferablyof reduced width and disposed in notches in the upper ends of the bars 12,-and they are adapted to rest on'ledges 15 to support the frames 9 in thebrood chamber 7. The upper movement of the working bees therethrough are adapted, as has been found in practice, to prevent a :queen bee from passing therethrough to go from the brood chamber ,7 to the surplus chamber 8. To form the passageways 11, the top bars 10 are each formed with a preferably curved projection or convexity 16 on one side thereof and a preferably curved cavity or concavity 17 on the other side thereof and the top bars are arranged to have the convexities- 16 facing the concavities -17,

Itwill be seen that the invention has .the

merit of being simple in character. In

practice it has been found to effectively eX elude queen bees from the surplus chamber and to accomplislithe objects hereinbefore mentioned.

I claim: r

a 1. In a bee hive, brood frames having the top bars thereof spaced from each other and formed to provide a tortuous passageway between the sides of adjacent top bars, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a vbee hive, brood frameshaving the top bars thereof formed and arranged to lower and the upper surfaces of the top bars, substantially as set forth. i

provide tortuous passageways between the 3. In a bee hive, brood frames having the top bars thereof formed with a curved projection on one side thereof and a cavity on the other side thereof and arranged spaced 5 from each other to rovide between the top bars passageways w iich lead from the lower to the upper surfaces of the top bars and are adapted to prevent a queen bee from-passing therethrough, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 1.0 name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses at Fullerton, county of Orange, State of California, this 10th day of J une A. D. 1913.

NEWTON MATTHEWS.

Witnesses:

E. I. FULLER, J. L. ScHMAoHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. I 

